Malphite, AP or AD?

Malphite, AP or AD?

Yes, I know he's a tank and to build him as a tank. But even tanks sometimes need a little offense to get them through. I'm not a huge fan of sunfires on him, and was wondering what is a good way to add a little extra damage to the rock? Build a little AP(example ROA/Abyssal) to give him a better opener and better harassment, or get some AD(example Atma's) to play off his brutal strikes and make him more relevant when his CDs are all up)? Or should I split the difference and buy a gunblade? XD

seismic shard has a decent ratio (.6) and his ult is 1:1, but unless you're stacking pure AP it really isn't worth it. build him with a focus on armor and health so that ground slam continues to do goofy damage and so that you can buy an atma's later, since brute strength will synergize excellently with it

I mean technically he isn't really a tank as he doesn't have a move that shields himself or others, also he is not listed as a tank but he makes a great tank considering his W increases his armor and with armor he gains some damage making him a bit of a threat in team fights, but what really makes him a tank in my opinion is his great initiation move his ult. This can also be used to kill squishys combined with a Q and an E.

You could really go either way to boost his DPS output. I use to be a big fan of DPS Malphite before they changed his Brutal strikes buff from +70% AD to +40% AD. Now i prefer to roll a little AP into my builds and further increase his burst damage with the Ult/GS/SS combo.

One item i really like to get late game vs squishy casters is Abysal Scepter. IT give me the MR i need, the AP to make my Ult and Shard hurt more...and most importantly...the Magic pen that buffs all 3 of his damage skills including his Ground Slam. The fact that the Magic Pen is also Global is a nother plus for my team.

I dont endorse playing a pure AP MAlphite competitively, but throwing in an item like AS has done wonders for my burst damage and ganking power mid/late game.

Atma's Impaler is always a good choice for increasing his physical DPS if you prefer to go that road. Probably my first choice for a late game DPS item as it synergieses nice with Malph and is relativly cheap for the bonus AD if you have any health items at all.

Hexdrinker may be a nice counetr to burst damage, as well as buffing his AD...but i have not tried it yet.

Everyone says malphite is a tank. Malphite is not a tank. He is an anti-carry durable melee dps. His passive does not make him a tank it just gives him extra hp for surviving an initiation.

Proof that he is not a tank? Here it is.
1. He has an extremely high damage gain per level. Because of this sheen actually hurts alot in his burst. Real tanks get less damage per level but more defensive stats.
2. He has no innate ability to reduce incoming damage at his discretion. The armor buff is for more damage and surviving the DPS(whom you are killing) retaliation to a lesser extent. It does nothing for magic damage. Shen, alistar, rammus all can reduce all damage coming in.
3. His skillset is not designed for tanking and removing focus from your carry. It is designed for killing(brutal Strikes), Countering escape and assisting chase(Shard), Reducing DPS(ground slam) and closing distance(ult).

That's right don't initiate with his ult shard the ****ing carry and go **** em up and when they burn a get out of jail free card(Flash,arcane shift etc) then you ult them to finish them.

BTW. Augmenting Malphites spells in early game makes him a great harasser. Magic pen quints and glyphs and marks with mana regen seals and meditation from utility is hell on the opposing lane. AP malphite does a high amount of initial burst.